Newsletter Issue 14

Tel: 0151 645 5049 Fax: 0151 643 1516 Web: www.stjohnplessington.com General Email: schooloffice@stjohnplessington.com

Learning Programme 2/7

w/c 12th December 2011

Careers and Industry Experience—Breakfast Meeting Event

End of Term Arrangements Please note that College will be closing at 12 noon on Friday, 16th December 2011.

School buses will not be available - please make alternative arrangements. We wish all our pupils and their families a Happy and Holy Christmas.

A reminder that pupils will return to College at 8.40am on Wednesday, 4th January 2012.

Last week SJP invited local companies into the school with the objective of developing partnerships to bring the world

of work into the classroom. We were delighted that the Mayor of Wirral, Cllr. Moira McLoughlin and Phil Davies, Council Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Planning Strategy could also attend.

The event was organised alongside Invest Wirral. Invest Wirral is Wirral Council’s inward investment and local business support team, which offer support services to companies and provide relevant information, guidance and support to help

their growth and development.

Roy Jones, Community Liaison Manager of Scottish Power, provided an informative talk on the benefits of businesses

linking with schools. Aiden Harper, Managing Director of TFL Education Ltd provided further information on our Teacher Future Leaders programme for all teachers of KS3 students; blending leadership, personal development and skills for life.

The aim of the breakfast meeting was to encourage the businesses to sign up for the SJP Ambassador Scheme. This scheme lists a number of opportunities of how they could become involved with the school, including employer-led

seminars, site visits, focused internships and mentoring by local industry ambassadors.

Comments by the employers included:

“I think that the work to encourage enterprise in SJP is truly inspiring” “I was impressed by the school environment and the pupils who showed us around”

Mrs McMahon Head of Work related Learning said, “I was delighted so many companies could attend. My aim is that pupils develop a realistic idea of the world of work from an early stage and leave SJP with more confidence to succeed in

their chosen career path.”

Newsletter Issue 14 Learning Programme 2/7 w/c: 12th December 2011

which you may have seen on SJP Live and the

Year 7 - 96.4% Year 8 - 94.0% Year 9 - 94.6%

Year 10 - 92.5% Year 11- 93.2%

Next PTA meeting:

7pm Tuesday 17th January 2012 in the College Staff Room.

All are welcome.

Attendance - 09.12.2011

90.0%

91.0%

92.0%

93.0%

94.0%

95.0%

96.0%

97.0%

Yr 7 Yr 8 Yr 9 Yr 10 Yr 11

have seen on SJP Live and the website. We all had Exams Information

A number of Year 12 students attended the work-shop with Claire Young, finalist in the BBC’s the apprentice The aim was to develop students as global entre-preneurs by exploring their ability to be creative, innovative and to think big. The task: Come up with an original idea for a new product which could be sold by a sports company. Their target market was students aged 11 to 16 years. Clare gave them tips and hints throughout the session including how to deliver a good presen-tation. The students identified the skills they will need to action their own ideas on how to make a difference to the lives of others in communities around the world. They will use this experience to set up a so-cial enterprise team in school to look at enterpris-ing ideas to help raise funds for Street Child Africa.

Go Global Workshop GCE & GCSE exams in January 2012 All students with GCE or GCSE exam entries for January 2012 should have received an Individual Pupil Timetable

from their Head of Learning, Learning Coach or Form Tutor. If you think you have been entered for an exam, and you have not received a timetable, please ask for the Exams Officer at the Reception Desk. A booklet entitled January 2012 Exams Information

for Parents & Pupils? is available via the school website. Hard copies are available on Reception. This booklet

contains an exam timetable and important information

about exam requirements and regulations: please read it.

Please bring the correct equipment to each exam

• calculators and geometry sets to Maths exams

• calculators to Science exams

• black ballpoint pen to every exam.

Seating plans will be displayed in the foyer, and from the DT classroom window overlooking the school yard.

You should be able to spot them - they will be printed

on bright green paper.

Exams run very efficiently and smoothly at SJP, thanks to the excellent conduct of our students. If you have any queries or questions about your forthcoming exams, please ask your subject tutor, or the Ex-ams Officer.

Morning exams will begin at 9.00 am. Afternoon ex-ams will begin at 1.30 pm.

Students must assemble in School Yard at 8.30 for am exams, and 1.00 for pm exams, where they will receive further instructions from staff.

Newsletter Issue 14 Learning Programme 2/7 w/c: 12th December 2011

Whenever we do something important, we

can’t just turn up. We can’t just roll up un-prepared and expect to have an amazing

experience. If we are going to a party, we can’t just turn up without

getting dressed up and bringing a present for the host.

If we’re going out for a meal, we have to make sure that we haven’t already eaten.

Okay, so sometimes surprises can be nice, but most of the time something special needs properly preparing for

it. We need to make sure that we are prepared and that we are worthy of doing what it is we are about to do.

At Christmas, we celebrate something totally amazing:

we celebrate the fact that our God loved us enough to come down to earth and live among us. He loved us so

much that he had to come and live as one of us and show us what it meant to love and serve one another

and to truly believe in him.

If you stop and think about it, it’s pretty amazing. And that’s why the Church gives us Advent. It is a way

of preparing for Christmas by making sure that we real-ise what it’s about, making sure we are worthy and

healing anything in our lives that’s stopping us from having our share in the joy that it all brings.

What’s Advent All About?

On Tuesday 29th November A group of students from

year 12 were given a opportunity to design their future. There was an exhibition of Universities and Colleges that

specialise in Art and Design based courses. The students were able to talk to lecturers and students about the

course contents and also the admissions policies for

those courses. This first hand information will be very useful when deciding which universities and colleges to

apply for. Design courses do have different entrance requirement

from other courses. This information will also be useful to students after

GCSE results day to help them decide on their A level

courses.

There were also a range of different workshops to at-tend such as how to create a portfolio and managing student finances. What amazed the students was the

shear number of different courses available within the Design Sector, including ; Architecture & Landscape Ar-

chitecture, Art, Art and Design, Applied Art, Ceramics and Glass, Community and Public Arts, Crafts, Digital

Media Art and Design, Fashion, Fine Art, Furniture, Graphic Design, Illustration and Book Art, Interactive

Design and Media, Interior, Spatial and Structural De-

sign, Jewellery and Designed Metal, Photography, Video and Lens Media, Product Design, Textile, Fabric and Pat-

tern Design, Theatre, Scenic Arts and Set Design, Three Dimensional Design, Visual and Vision Arts.

Sixth Form information Evening will take place at 6.00

p.m. on Tuesday 17th January 2012. During the eve-ning Year 11 pupils and parents will have the opportu-

nity to meet the director of sixth form, sixth form heads of learning, the sixth form learning coach, rep-

resentatives from higher education institutions, spe-

cialist subject teachers and current sixth form stu-dents. Our SJP careers officer and a connexions rep-

resentative will also be available to give you advice. You will be able to view exhibitions and speak to staff

about choosing relevant sixth form courses. This will enable you to make an informed decision on how best

to choose courses and plan for your future career.

If you have any queries, please contact the Year 11

Head of Learning in the first instance.

Congratulations to the Year 7 & 8 netball teams who

both added another victory to their impressive results so far. Both teams played against University Academy Birk-

enhead at home last Thursday with the Year 7 team winning 4-3 and the Year 8 team winning 8-0. The Year

8 team have played 9 games this half term only losing 1

which is a very impressive record. Well done girls! Player of the match: Natalie Maxwell

Netball News

College Scarf

College scarf- An SJP College scarf is now available

from Wirral Uniform Centre. This is optional but if

pupils choose to wear a scarf, only the College scarf is

Design Your Future

Sixth Form Information Evening

Newsletter Issue 14 Learning Programme 2/7 w/c: 12th December 2011

Tel: 0151 645 5049 Fax: 0151 643 1516 Web: www.stjohnplessington.com General Email: schooloffice@stjohnplessington.com

Language Corner Puzzle Corner

Weekly Theme - ‘Finding Happiness’

Human beings come in all different ages, shapes, colour’s and sizes, but they all share one ambition; everyone wants to be happy. But how to find hap-piness? And then how to keep it? When Nelson Mandela visited Britain, we experienced a happy man; a sincere man who had suffered that others might be free; a man who found happiness through working for others. That is the message of this week; if you want happiness, find it for others and then you will have found it for yourself also, and that happiness will remain

Thessalonians 5:16-24

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul

and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faith-ful, and he will do it Father, the whole world looks with eager-ness to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. May we, in our lives, know the real meaning of happiness and find it in the peace that your Son promises to all who follow him.

Can you match up the following Christmas themed French words with the correct English words?

The first five correct answers brought to Miss Kingsland in LA2 will receive a house point!

Solution from last week

Les anges La dinde Les Rois Mages Le Père Noël Le sapin de Noël La Nativité La crèche L’étoile

The donkey The three Kings The turkey The Christmas tree Father Christmas The star The Nativity scene The manger The angels